Jill’s House celebrates children with special needs and provides renewal to the extraordinary families who love them through short-term overnight respite care.

-Jill’s House has received parent ratings of 9.97 out of ten.
-Of families who have come once, 92 percent have already returned with many making monthly visits.

Changing Lives, Impacting Everyday Life

Many families have settled into the recommended “rhythm of respite.” When a family knows its regularly scheduled “break” is coming soon, its difficult days become easier. Here’s a glimpse into how Jill’s House is changing lives:

-A child spent his birthday weekend at Jill’s House so he could, for the first time, have a real birthday party with his peers. His parents called it “one of the highlights of our son’s life.”

-One child used to sleep with his dad every night for the last eight years; after a night away at Jill’s House, he learned independence. He now sleeps in his own bed!

-Diagnosed with cancer, one parent schedules visits to Jill’s House to coincide with chemotherapy treatments.

-One family had never been to dinner and a movie in the theater, since its child with special needs could sit through neither. One evening, while their child stayed at Jill’s House, the parents and typical siblings experienced their first dinner and movie together.

-From “Only Child” to Belonging. One child has a father who is in prison. His mom works long hours to make ends meet, leaving the boy feeling isolated much of the time. At Jill’s House, the boy has linked up with two brothers who have “adopted” him as a third brother. His mom gets some much-needed time and her son gets to feel connected to other boys.

-Two little girls have become close friends and now coordinate their monthly visits so they can have a monthly slumber party.

-Taking the Leap. Nearly all parents are extremely nervous during their child’s first Jill’s House visit. One woman has a daughter with cerebral palsy. When we gave a presentation about Jill’s House at her daughter’s school, she kept saying, “I don’t think I could do it.” As our team answered her questions, she decided to go for it. She and her husband celebrated their 20th anniversary and – because of Jill’s House – they had their first night away in years!

-Learning about God. A parent shared, “I have very different beliefs from yours, but what I know is when our son comes home, he has a different attitude and talks about how God loves him and God made him and it changes his whole outlook. So, whatever you’re doing here, please keep doing it.”

-One mom had been trying to implement a routine of nightly bedtime prayers for years with little success, after a weekend at Jill’s House her son proactively asked if they could say bedtime prayers.